How long do antidepressants take to work?

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The NHS timeline: antidepressants usually take 1 to 2 weeks to start having an effect, and up to 8 weeks to work fully. The frustrating part is the sequence: side effects (nausea, jitteriness, sleep changes) often arrive in the first few days, while the mood benefit lags weeks behind, which is exactly why so many people quit at the worst moment. What the first weeks actually look like: sleep and appetite often normalize first, then energy, then concentration, and mood itself lifts last, sometimes so gradually that other people notice before you do. The rules that make them work: take it daily at the same time, give the current dose the full 4 to 6 weeks before judging it (dose adjustments are normal, not failure), and never stop abruptly, because discontinuation symptoms (dizziness, electric-zap sensations, flu-like feelings, mood crash) are common and miserable, and tapers exist for that reason. The follow-up schedule the NHS describes: check-ins every 1 to 2 weeks at the start, then spacing out once stable. Two safety notes that matter: people under 25 can get a short-term increase in suicidal thoughts when starting, which is why those early check-ins exist, so report any dark turn immediately; and "it did nothing after 6 weeks at a proper dose" is useful data, not a dead end, because switching molecules or augmenting works for most initial non-responders. Once well, expect to stay on it at least 6 months past remission to cut relapse risk.

How long do antidepressants take to work?

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